Risk of a van rolling over

[ultrafilter]

Sunday my mom asked me why you hear about SUVs rolling over, but not vans. I opined that maybe it happened less often, or maybe SUVs are the devil du jour.

Thinking about it later, I don’t see why vans would be any safer. Many of them are narrower than the average SUV, and some are taller. So how about it, dopers? Am I taking my life in my hands every time I get in a van?

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Vans do roll over. The Secretary of Transportation, I’ll think of her name in a minute, a couple of years ago issued a formal warning to people with 15-passenger vans not to drive with fewer than 15 passengers in them, as they apparently need the weight to keep them from rolling over. And somewhere there are double-axle 15-passenger vans in the works to provide more stability for those people who simply insist on driving their 15-passenger vans with fewer than 15 passengers in them.

This all came about, IIRC, as a direct consequence of an accident on the interstate up Chicago way a couple of years ago, where a 15-passenger Salvation Army van with fewer than 15 passengers in it rolled over. Suddenly the scales fell from the NHTSA’s eyes and the next thing you know, it’s Press Conference time.

I even went and found a cite for ya, so you won’t think I’m making it all up. I know, it sounds nuts. I mean, what are you supposed to do–go out and get five strangers to fill up your van?

http://www.acacamps.org/campline/02m_passenger.htm

On April 15th, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reissued a cautionary warning to users of fifteen-passenger vans. The agency notified consumers of an increased rollover risk under certain conditions. A similar warning was issued in May of 2001, when the NHTSA warned motorists that 15-passenger vans with ten or more occupants are three times as likely to roll over in crashes than 15-passenger vans that are lightly loaded.

[keithnmick]

In general, SUVs ARE more prone to rollover than vans. Here’s the government testing that says so:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/NCAP/

• most of the vans rate between a 3 and a 4. Most of the suvs rate 2 or 3 stars.

SUVs have a higher center of gravity than vans due to the bigger wheels and jacked up suspension.

I’m against SUV’s as daily drivers. I had a good friend die a few months ago in a rollover accident. No other vehicles were involved.

[CookingWithGas]

Wait a minute, your cite says the opposite of what you claimed.

*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose *
. . . formal warning to people with 15-passenger vans not to drive with fewer than 15 passengers in them, as they apparently need the weight to keep them from rolling over.

. . .15-passenger vans with ten or more occupants are three times as likely to roll over in crashes than 15-passenger vans that are lightly loaded.

[Fuel]

There are far less vans on the road than SUV’s.

They will definately tip just as often and probably more often than SUV’s. They have softer suspensions usually, and have a higher center of gravity on the whole.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Well, sheesh, whatever it was, it was a thingie that went past in the news about vans that roll over, and the OP wanted to know why we never hear about vans rolling over, so I said, “But we do hear about vans rolling over…”